Improvement in table-cutlery



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH W. GARDNER, OF SHELBURNE FALLS, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN TABLE-OUTLERY. Y

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 40,03 l, datedSeptember 22, 1863.

T0 aZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that l, J osErH W. GARDNER, of Shelburne Falls, in thecountv of Franklin and State of Massachusetts,have invented a new anduseful Improvement in Table-(lut- `lery; and I do hereby declare thesame to be fully described in the following specification andillustratedin the accompanying drawings, ot' which- Figure l denotes a side view,Fig. 2 an edge view, and Fig. 3 a longitudinal section, ot' atable-knife provided with my invention. Fig. 4 is a side view of theblade and tang of of such knife, while Fig. 5 is an edge view thereof.Figs. 6 and 7 are longitudinal sections of the handle. Fig. 8 is a viewof the upper end of thelatter.

'The object ot' my improvement is not only to dispense with the use ofcement in the connection of the handle and the blade, but to conjointhem in a rm manner and in such way as to prevent the handle fromsplitting under great pressure ou the blade while in the act of cutting.

The employment of cement in the handles of table-cutlery is veryobjectionable, as itis liable to be melted when the handles are eX-posedto heat. Under such circumstances the consequence which generallyfollows is the loosening of the handle from its tang.

My mode of connecting the handle and the blade has many advantages overthe cementing process, as it not only enables the parts to be made inexact correspondence with or fitto one another by machinery and withlittle labor, but will admit ot' the entire separation of a handle froma blade preparatory to v the latter being either cleaned or sharpened.

In the drawings, A denotes the blade, B the bolster, and l) the tang, ofa tableknife, the said tang being constructed with a male screw, a,formed on it at or near its outer end. From the middle ofthe bolster atenon, e, extends in the direction of the tang, and terminates in twocurved projections or teeth, O C, arranged on opposite sides of thetang, the whole being formed substantially as eX` hibited in thedrawings.

The handle is not only made with a tangpassage, b, passing axiallythrough it, but has its upper end constructed with a mortise, d, and tworecesses, o o, to receive and exactly t the tenon and its two parts C C,the said tenon and recesses being arranged as shown in the drawings. Theinner edge of each projection O, I make of the form of an arc of acircle, in order that it may t closely its seat or recess of the mortiseof the handle, as such mortise and recesses I generally make by threesaws or burrs, in which case one burr or saw is employed to make themortise entirely across the handle, each of the other burrs beingemployed to form one of the recesses for the reception of the parts C C.The said parts O O, as well as the tang, bolster, and blade, I make inone piece of metal, and give the required shape to them by means of diesor what is usually termed a droppress.77

Vhen the tang is inserted in place within the handle, the recesses o oof the latter will be overlapped by the parts G G, and may be firmlyforced against the same by means of a nut, F, screwed upon the tang andagainst the lower part of the handle. The said parts C O will not onlyprevent the handle from revolving on the tang, but will act inpreventing the tang from splitting the handle while either thecutting-edge lor the back of the blade is being borne against an object.

I do not depend upon having the tang lit closely to its passage madethroughl the handle, rather prefering to have it iit loosely thereon, inorder that the contraction of theA handle transversely, which may beinduced by changes of atmospheric temperature or other means, may notproduce acrack or cracks in the handle. My invention will apply to afork as well as to a knife.

I do not claim effecting the junction of the bolster with the handle bytenoning the handle into the bolster or by means of a ferruleencompassing the two.

I claim- As in improvement in table-cutlery, a knife or a fork havingits handle and bolster made and applied together in manner substantiallyas hereinbefore described, and as represented in the accompanyingdrawings.

JOSEPH WV. GARDNER.

Witnesses E. G. LAMsoN, F. A. BALL.

